From the heart of Sikhism comes the inspiring story of a former army colonel helping to free his countrymen from addiction through positive reinforcement.
Colonel Dr Rajinder Singh is the founder and director of Akal Drug Abuse Center in Punjab. His methods have helped over 10,000 patients kick addictions stemming from a variety of underlying causes.
Dr. Singh is 91 years old, but you wouldn’t know it: he’s always working to improve the center, and plans to open a third location are well underway.
His method depends on transformation born of compassion and constant reinforcement.
According to The best IndiaDr. Singh was one of independent India’s first doctoral psychiatrists, but it was his time in the army, fighting in the 1962 Indochina War, that helped him understand the psyche behind the dependencies.
“Military personnel are exposed to very stressful situations. Long periods away from home can affect their mental health. Some even suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after combat or war,” Singh said.
At the Akpal center in Punjab’s Sangrur district, Singh witnessed all kinds of addictions, from intravenous drug use to dependence on laundry fumes. He even admitted to one man addicted to the adrenaline shock of snake bites.
In all cases, his method is the same: physical exercise, organized sports, yoga, medical treatment if necessary, and introduction of the notion of service inherent to his Sikh faith without any room for “the harangue or the preacher”.
Dr. Singh believes that the root cause of addictions lies in certain experiences that the person has struggled with and that eventual moral reckoning, either with themselves or those who have harmed them, is the ultimate goal of addiction. rehabilitation.
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Remembering a patient admitted for injecting a mixture of substances that caused the breakdown of two separate marriages, a mix of medication, individual and group counseling, and spiritual healing helped him overcome withdrawal .
“His withdrawal symptoms eased, he gained six kilos, his sleep and appetite improved and his mood became happy. He was discharged with advice for regular follow-up,” notes Singh. Today, the former patient works in a factory, is married and has referred more than 60 drug addicts from his region to this center.
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Sikhs believe that being born as a human is the result of a first birth like any other animal on Earth, and therefore, life should be cherished and the fruits that come from it should be shared.
This is a good starting point for any attitude toward healing addiction in society: that the lives of addicts not only matter, but are beautiful and purposeful.
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